Data may be wirelessly advertised using several current technologies. One such technology is LTE Direct (LTED). With LTED a device may publish and subscribe to “expressions.” A discovery beacon, containing a bit code (OTACode), is broadcasted to publish an expression to proximate neighbor devices. Publication and subscription OTACodes must be resolved at a centralized Expression Name Server (ENS). In other words, data is indirectly communicated through the ENS. LTED is advantageous because it adheres to the 3GPP standard. However, publishing dynamic data requires re-publishing an expression whenever it changes generating a new OTACode. A device receiving the “updated” OTACode must resolve the unrecognized code at the ENS preventing caching on the receiver's side.
Other alternative technologies which are used to advertise data include WiFi, Bluetooth (BT), and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). With these technologies, a device may directly write to and read from elements in broadcasted beacons. WiFi beacons provide Information Elements (IEs) in which arbitrary bytes can be written and read. Similarly, devices in the Bluetooth (BT) and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) peripheral role may use advertisement packets (ADs) to broadcast arbitrary bytes. A BT/BLE device in the central role may scan for ADs and read their contents when received. WiFi and BT/BLE may directly communicate data through IEs/ADs. WIFI/BT/BLE advertisement is advantageous because dynamic data may be placed directly into IEs/ADs. However, there is no standardized format for representing dynamic data as a sequence of bytes.
While LTED provides a method of communicating at least some information to devices, LTE networks and devices for assigning OTACodes are normally managed by a macro network operator, e.g., an operator of a network which uses licensed spectrum. Normally, whenever information to be associated with an OTACode is changed, there is a requirement that a new OTACode be assigned to the new information. The new OTACode and information must then be propagated out to LTED devices for it to be useful. From a management as well as macro network resource untilization perspective, it may be desirable to avoid issuing new OTACodes on a frequent basis. Thus, while OTACodes can be useful for some information and well suited for static or information that changes at relatively large intervals, the overhead associated with trying to communicate rapidly chaining information using LTED and OTACodes can be undesirable. For example, while it may be desirable for a business owner to advertise the presence of a store at a particular location, it may be undesirable from an overhead perspective, at least of some entities, to advertise frequently changing customer line length information or other rapidly varying wait time information for the store via LTED.
In the case of WiFi, Bluetooth and other local networks which do not involve use of macro network resources and/or require involvement of macro network entities for purposes of assigning codes and propagating information associated with codes, a local entity can more readily manage the updating and communicating of rapidly changing information without worrying about the overhead associated with changes of information that would require assignment of a new OTACode if the changing information was to be communicated through the use of LTED. Thus, it might be easy for a store owner to update a server or other Internet accessible device to show current line lengths while it might be more involved if the owner of the store were to try to update and communicate such information via LTED.
Often, LTED beacons propagate further than beacons of short area networks such as WiFi, Bluetooth, etc. Accordingly, while from an overhead perspective it might be desirable to advertise information in the LTED coverage area, it can also be desirable that the advertised information not be information which changes rapidly. Furthermore, from the perspective of macro network resource utilization, it may be desirable if, even though some information may be advertised using macro network resources, if the bulk of the information, and particularly highly time varying information, could be provided to devices with little or no use of macro network communications resources.
In view of the above discussion, it should be appreciated that it would be desirable if methods and/or apparatus could be developed which allow the use of some information to be advertised using macro network resources, e.g., LTED resources, but did not require extensive use of such resources or management overhead associated with adverting information via macro network resources, to communicate rapidly changing information.